The Palmeral of Elche is a plantation of palm trees in the Spanish province of Alicante. It is the largest palm grove ; in Europe and one of the largest in the world, surpassed in size only by some in Arab countries.
The Palmeral includes the Parque Municipal and many other orchards (huertos), covering over 3.5 km2 (1.4 sq mi), including 1.5 km2 (0.58 sq mi) within the city of Elche (Elx). It contains more than 11,000 palm trees, mostly date palms , with individual specimens up to 300 years old. At its peak, in the 18th century, it may have covered an area twice as large, with up to 200,000 trees. The dates are harvested in December.
It is thought that palms were originally planted in this location as early as the 5th century BC by Carthaginians who settled in south-east Spain. The plantation survived under the Romans and the Moors.
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